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Renewal of the Local Option Sales and Service Tax (LOSST) was approved by Allamakee County voters in a special election held Tuesday, August 5 in the cities of Waukon, Waterville, Postville, Harpers Ferry and New Albin and in the unincorporated areas, all by wide margins.
Voters in all of the jurisdictions approved a ten-year renewal of the tax, with the exception of Harpers Ferry, where voters approved renewal of the tax with no "sunset date."
Unofficial results provided by the Allamakee County Auditor's Office show the following vote totals:
Waukon 220-28; Waterville 17-0; Postville 48-3; Harpers Ferry 27-0; New Albin 20-2; unincorporated 221-23.
The City of Lansing has no "sunset date" on the one-percent sales and service tax, so no election was held there.

Lowell Engle of Harpers Ferry has announced he will be seeking election to the Iowa House of Representatives in District 56, which encompasses Allamakee County and most of Clayton County.
Engle was born in Hampton and graduated from Tripoli High School. After graduation he spent one year at the Iowa State Teacher's College, joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and enrolled at George Washington University. After his time in the FBI, he moved back to Iowa and completed more schooling at the University of Iowa.
Engle served for three years in the Army and worked in Army Intelligence. After his service in the Army ended, he worked for the Foreign Service and Department of Defense. He spent most of that time overseas studying Spanish and French. He has the equivalent of a Master's degree in both languages.

The Standard Newspaper recently made some changes to its website, www.waukonstandard.com. In making the site more attractive, some new features have been added, including an all-new electronic edition of the newspaper that provides access to all the same news and advertising printed each week in a convenient online format.
"We're excited to be able to offer a new option for delivery of our newspaper," said Assistant Editor and website administrator Bob Beach. "With the new e-edition, readers have the option to view the pages of our newspaper exactly as they appear in print on their computers, tablets and smartphones. We hope this option will ease some of the frustration caused by slowed delivery of the print edition due to recent changes in the U.S. Postal Service."

by Bob Beach

Voters in Allamakee County will head to the polls Tuesday, August 5 to determine the future of the Local Option Sales and Service Tax (LOSST), a one-percent tax on sales and services. The tax is nothing new - most jurisdictions in the County have a ten-year "sunset date" on the one-cent sales tax, the only exception being the City of Lansing. Voters in all other towns and townships will be asked whether or not the tax should be renewed for another ten years and to approve how the resulting revenues will be spent.

Several Allamakee County citizens were on hand to receive 2014 Governor’s Volunteer Awards from Iowa Governor Terry E. Branstad and Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds during a special recognition ceremony held in late June in Cedar Falls. Lansing residents Bruce Palmborg and Ric and Betty Zarwell, Waukon resident Pam Delphey, and local businesses Kerndt Brothers Savings Bank of Lansing and Harpers Ferry, and Upper Iowa Resort and Rental of Dorchester were each honored for the volunteer efforts they have put forth this past year, most of those local recipients being represented in the photographs below accompanying this article.

by Bob Beach

by Bob Beach

The Allamakee County Democrats reconvened their County Convention July 8, and delegates nominated Dan Byrnes of Waukon as the Democratic candidate for Allamakee County Supervisor. Byrnes will be on the ballot for November’s General Election in which two County Supervisor seats will be up for election.
Byrnes was born and raised in Allamakee County.  His parents, Leo and Mary Ellen (Walsh) Byrnes, were farmers noted for their award-winning Angus herd. After graduating from Waukon High School in 1979, Byrnes attended the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and earned a bachelor’s degree in Agriculture. The youngest of seven children, he returned to Allamakee County, purchased his own farm, and eventually took over the Byrnes family farm, which is a Century Farm located five miles southeast of Waukon in Jefferson Township.

Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) has named Erica Nosbisch of Waukon to the position of Waukon Center director. Nosbisch begins her duties at the center July 21.
The former Erica Langland, Nosbisch is a 2003 Waukon High School graduate and earned her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Public Relations from Coe College in Cedar Rapids in 2007, graduating magna cum laude. At Coe, she played basketball for four years and was academic all-conference, a college adjustment peer, a member of student senate and multiple honor societies, and named to the dean’s list. After graduating from Coe, Nosbisch earned her master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Iowa in 2013 and graduated with distinction.
Prior to her role at NICC, Nosbisch worked as a grain merchandiser for Archer Daniels Midland and as a senior procurement specialist for ConAgra Foods.

This week, July 16-20, the 161st Allamakee County Fair will be held for all to enjoy at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds in Waukon. A wide variety of entertainment  - including some locally familiar and legendary worldwide talent - is in place to headline this year’s fair at the grandstand, along with a great deal of other activities for everyone to enjoy each and every day throughout the five-day event.